Sustainable Business

Finding resources and solutions to protect the environment and our communities together.

It is our collective responsibility to protect the city we love by mitigating our environmental impact in every way possible. Seattle Good Business Network works to develop and support initiatives and provide resources and programs to help local businesses, organizations, and communities live in a safer and healthier environment.

Resources

If you’re a Seattle Good Directory member, don’t forget to log in and check out your members-only benefits under “Benefits”. If you’re a Seattle Made member, don’t forget to log in and check out your members-only benefits under “My Account”!

Are You Part of EnviroStars?

EnviroStars is a free, one-stop hub for Washington businesses to get information, help, and recognition for actions that protect their workplace, the community, and the planet. By joining EnviroStars, businesses have free access to resources and incentives that can help them adopt sustainable practices and get recognized for it.

What Local Businesses Love about EnviroStars

"As an organic tea manufacturer, sustainability, conservation, and waste reduction are core principles for Choice Organic Teas. EnviroStars has helped us to identify areas where we have already succeeded in reducing our environmental impact as well as enlightened us to city programs and grants to help us further our goals of waste reduction and energy conservation. It’s so important that businesses evaluate their impact on the environment and having EnviroStars as a free resource for Seattle businesses is invaluable."

Anne-Marie Phillips

VP of Sales & Marketing

"When I started my business, I did not realize how supportive of a community we have in Seattle. EnviroStars is a big part of pulling that together and connecting business owners to one another. As we all strive to be as environmentally and socially responsible as we can with our businesses, there are always challenges and this group has been a great space and forum for increasing my ability to embed sustainable growth into my business model."

Molly Ray

Fragrance Designer

“It gives a great checklist and good best practices and ideas that a maturing company would want to do, to move towards being more sustainable. You don’t have to invent everything yourself, you don’t have to think of everything and then there’s the support to help get those things in place, and the rewards are great.”

Micah Nutt | Jason Parker

Co-Founder & President | Co-Founder & President

Past Sustainable Business Events

Sustainable Packaging 101: Food and Beverage Edition

February 2019 | Seattle Made partnered with Modern Species, a sustainable branding and package design agency, to help inform local businesses on upstream decisions (like ethical sourcing, materials, and manufacturing), the use-case considerations (like performance, lifespan, and cost), and the downstream consequences (like consumer behavior, disposal, and recovery) of food service containers and retail food packaging. This event sparked many conversations and helped shed light on some of the challenges and solutions to reducing waste through conscious business choices.

Seattle Made & EnviroStars | Summer Pop-Up

September 2018 | We partnered with EnviroStars to help raise awareness of sustainable Seattle Made businesses, and help more gain access and insight into how the EnviroStars program can help maintain, and grow their business sustainably. Hosted at Hotel Theodore.

Circular Economy

A Circular Economy aims to redefine the way we live, work, and do business. It changes our extractive “take, use, and throw away” model, to a more environmentally and socially regenerative one.

Circular Initiatives

Seattle Good Business Network works to build a more ‘circular Seattle’ by helping to de-silo community stakeholders and organizations by making connections where they matter, and closing the loops.

2019 projects that are underway are centered on waste diversion, reuse, and upcycling, as well as closing loops within the local food economy. More information to be announced soon!

Past Circular Economy Events

Sustainable Packaging Coalition Impact 2019 | Circular Economy

April 2019 | Seattle Good Business Network partnered with SPC for their Impact 2019 conference in Seattle, where over 500 partners from across the nation and world came together to learn about new initiatives, tools, and ideas around how the packaging world can slowly transition to a more circular model. Seattle Made members participated by hosting a classic tour through Pike Place, and by spreading awareness of their upcycled products at the event, showing how small businesses can lead the conversation around circular business models.

Holiday Pop Up Market | Upcycler's Edition

November 2018 | Seattle Made partners with Blanton Turner to host a Nov/Dec holiday pop up at the Broadway Market to promote sustainable Seattle Made businesses, and the diversion of materials from the waste stream, during a season of over 25% increase in waste production in the US (source). Seattle Recreative actively engages market-goers to wrap gifts, and build tree ornaments from once-discarded, upcycled materials.

The State of Textile Recycling, Reuse, and Repair | WRED Event

October 2018 | Seattle Made members help drive the conversation on global textile waste, and explore solutions created by a circular, textile economy. Hosted as a WRED event (Washington Recycles Everyday) by REI, WA State Recycling Agency, and Zero Waste WA. Learn more here.

CHOMP! Local | Upcycle Bazaar

August 2018 | At King County’s annual fair, Seattle Made upcyclers bring awareness to the importance of the circular economy by showing the community exclusive products made with upcycled materials. Learn more about Chomp! here.